ok so semi-short chapter update! i think. anyways, here you go. the second chapter of my second story Final Fantasy Versus XIII: Bride of the Night Stars. I apologize for not updating in a while, but I've been doing a lot of things lately, like catching up on summer homework. ehh, you know how that is. and i won't be updating for a while longer, because tomorrow i'm taking a trip with my family to seattle and i'm not quite sure how long i will be gone. and i'm sorry if there are any mistakes in this chapter. i was doing this one in a rush.

*i've made a change or 2 in the first chapter, so feel free to re-read it if you want. it might explain a few things about this chapter (like the reason why they sacrificed the main character), so yeah.

again, this is an adaptation of the korean manhwa Bride of the Water God by Yun Mi-kyung. Credit does not go to me and i do not own anything.
feedback/comments are love and happy reading! :)

Disclaimer: i own nothing.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII: Bride of the Night God
Chapter 2: Another Side of Life

Stella woke to the light that fell through the open window. It was definitely morning, but she still felt tired. She snuggled in the white sheets for a few more seconds before coming to a startling realization. The smell of the sheets was not familiar. And neither was the feel of the fabric.

Stella sat up with a start and looked around her, taking in the setting.

"That's right," she said to herself. "This is not home…"

Stella stood up and looked in the nearest mirror to smooth out her long, white robes before wandering around anywhere. Although she was here for almost a day, she still was not the least bit used to this place.

A strange room, she thought. And strange people.

Her thoughts drifted off to her "husband," Caelum. Her mind suddenly recalled something rather unusual. She felt it was unusual, but she couldn't remember.

I thought I had a dream yesterday, but I can't seem to recall it, she thought as she finished tidying up and brushing her hair. It was something about Caelum though.

Stella walked out of the room, and walking down the hall, the first person she saw was her husband. She smiled at the small child that stood in her way.

"Did you sleep well Caelum?" she asked with a smile as she gently patted the top of his head.

"You…" he started. "Who do you think I am?" he asked, clearly annoyed at her treating him so childishly.

Stella ignored his outburst when she saw his shirt. "Oh? Your button is not on right," she said. She began to hum a soft tune as she made sure that the buttons to his shirt were fastened on completely.

"…I am not a child!" he yelled as he ran off away from her.

Stella sighed. Sometimes children just cannot be helped, she figured.

The words of the old man she had met yesterday, Jiao-Long, echoed in her thoughts. If you need anything, please call me Stella, he had said. The old man seemed like a nice person.

Her thoughts then drifted to Caelum and she shook her head in amusement. Caelum can be a bother, but he does have his cute side, she thought as she remembered him with the red ball in his hands.

------

In the early mornings, it was routine for Caelum to practice his writing in his own personal study. The thought of Stella suddenly made him jolt, thus ruining what he was trying to write.

I forgot. I should have warned her not to go into the old building area, he thought, looking out the window. Oh well, I'm sure she'll be fine.

------

In a different building, Stella found herself facing the ruins of an old building. If a person passing Stella had seen her face, they would no doubt think she was lost.

"I've lost my way again. But why are these old buildings here?" she asked to no one in particular.

She walked until she stop at a large old door. With the mere touch of her finger, the doors began to slowly open, revealing a bright garden-like room that was filled with overflowing beauty.

Hearing approaching footsteps, Stella turned around to see who it could be.

"Oh? This is not a place where anyone can just come and go," the man standing before her said.

Stella was flustered. "Ah! I'm sorry. I didn't know…"

"You're Caelum's bride, right?" he asked.

The man standing before her hand long silver hair that seemed to flow like a waterfall. He wore rectangular looking spectacles and a set of intricately designed white robes. The spectacles rendered Stella unable to see his face completely, but somehow, she thought he had a very kind expression.

"My name is Gen. Doctor and inventor," he said, starting off the introductions. He seemed like a laid-back man from what she could tell.

"I'm Stella," she said.

Suddenly, he reached out and took her hand in his and began examining it. "By any chance, have you experienced any pain? A cold? A cough? Anything?" he asked, still closely examining her hand.

This doctor sure is bold, she thought. "No, I'm fine," she said, pulling her hand back politely.

"I see. Well then, let me write you a charm," he insisted, taking out a piece of paper.

"A charm?"

Gen nodded. "Yes. Do you have a special wish?"

Stella shrugged at his question. "Not really. I just wanted the people of my village to not worry about any more meteors."

"What?" He looked up at her and thought for a moment. His face full of contemplation. "I doubt it," he said.

What? "…Why would you say that?" Stella asked, slightly confused at his words.

"My dear, the meteors haven't stopped falling."

------

"Caelum!" Stella called as she pushed open the door to his study room. "Is it true?" she asked, out of breath.

Caelum looked up from his books and scrolls. His face calm and perfectly composed. "What are you being so noisy for?"

"Is it true?" she asked again, this time with more force. "You haven't stopped the meteors? If another set of meteors come down, people may die! Everyone is hoping that they would stop! It might be a waste of time for you, but for humans, their land is their life! If the meteors keep falling, then it would destroy the people's lands and even kill them!"

Still, the Night God did not react to her words. He looked down at his scrolls as if she had not said anything. At that, Stella lost it.

"How can you possibly play with the lives of humans like that?!"

Caelum's eyes snapped back up, and he stared at her with his cold blue eyes.

"That's the law of cause and effect," he said. "How much nature returns depends on how much is received. Aren't humans the ones who are really selfish?"

The look on her face told him to continue to elaborate on his words.

"As long as one is safe, it doesn't matter what happens to other people. Shouldn't you know that better than anyone?" he asked, his cold blue eyes still lingering on her.

Stella went stiff. The words of the villagers who sacrificed her rang in her ears and she felt a lump in her throat.

If we sacrifice someone, we can live! Just one person!
Just one person…

Caelum reached over to pick up his cup of tea. "Also…aren't you misunderstanding something?" he asked. "Why don't you try understanding your own situation?"

His words made Stella turn bright red, both in embarrassment and in anger and frustration. Quickly, she turned to leave from his room and began walking like a mad-man down the hallway.

I was completely mistaken. I have been fooled by his appearance, she thought as she rushed down the hall. I forgot that I am facing a bad tempered God.

Out of nowhere, a hand gently grabbed her wrist. Stella didn't want to deal with anything right now.

"What is it?" she asked in a loud voice. She turned around to find the man she had seen in the garden yesterday, Feng-Zhu, with a soft expression on his face. He did not seem fazed at the loudness of her voice.

"Ah, Feng-Zhu, I'm sorry," she apologized.

He shook his head, indicating to her that he didn't need an apology. "Did something happen?" he asked as he released his grip on her hand.

Stella shook her head in the negative. "No, it's nothing."

His gentle smile caught her off guard, and she felt her heart skip a beat for a moment.

"If you need any help or if you get tired of anything, call me," he said, walking in the opposite direction of where she was going.

Stella smiled at his kindness. "Thank-you. I don't want to escape from this place yet. I have to try my best!" she called after him.

------

It was finally late at night and the moon was bright and beautifully full. Caelum and the doctor, Gen were enjoying themselves underneath the moonlight while drinking wine on the balcony of Caelum's study. The two of them were comfortably sitting on a fair number of silk cushions and they were draped with soft creamy sheets.

Like every night, Caelum had turned from a young child into a handsome young man. And it was unusual for him to be so quiet at night like this. Not once had to turned his head from looking at the moon and conversing with the doctor as he usually did.

That was when Gen had to break the silence. "Why are you being so ill-tempered, Caelum? It's not like you don't like her," he said.

"It's not me," the Night God denied, taking a sip from his white wine cup. "The humans are killing themselves."

Gen shook his head. "But even so, are you going to make your cute bride cry?"

The memory of Stella's crying face the night before replayed in his memory, and for the moment, he stayed silent.

…Hmph. Well, I guess I have no choice, he thought. God is meant to forgive humans even while he is betrayed each time.

With a small wave of his hand, the Night God called back the large and deathly meteors that were due to come falling from the sky that night. Stella's village waited in anxiousness and worry the entire night, anticipating the wrath of the Night God unleashed through the frightening meteors…but none came. And for a while, no meteors fell from the sky on that village.

Some of the villagers might have remembered Stella, who sacrificed herself to become the bride of Caelum. And in the future, this will be passed down as a story. The story of a violent God of Night who was calmed by a girl who sacrificed herself to save a village.

------

Stella was standing outside on the balcony of her own room. Even though it was so quiet, she did not even hear Gen approach from behind her. She was startled when she felt a hand fall on her shoulder, but when she saw Gen, she blew out a sigh of relief.

"So…Caelum stopped the meteors from falling," he said.

Stella nodded. "Yes, I'm glad for that." It had been at least two days since the meteors had stopped falling down on her village, and for that, Stella was grateful.

"What's with the fickleness all of a sudden?" he continued as he turned to her. Stella did not answer his question and looked away.

"…Aren't you curious?" he asked, Stella's confused gaze turned to him. "About what happened to all of Caelum's previous brides?"

see you guys later :)